The video is horrible and leaves me with a feeling of total disgust at what these Hamas people are capable of doing . It seems to me that the aid convoy is taking the attitude of " the sacrifice of one for the good of many ".

Under fire again, South braces for more rockets
By YAAKOV LAPPIN
09/26/2010 02:59

“Blood is easily photographed, but the soul cannot be captured by a camera lens," head of mental health clinic says.
On Tuesday evening, Michal Shaban-Kotzer, spokeswoman for the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council, sent a beeper message to journalists alerting them of yet another rocket fired from Gaza.

“A few minutes ago, a loud explosion was heard near a kibbutz in the council,” the message read. “The Color Red rocket siren failed to sound. No casualties or damages.”

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10th rocket hits South since High Holidays began
'Kassams an obstacle to peace'

Since the end of Operation Cast Lead in January 2009, around 500 projectiles – rockets and mortar shells – have been fired by Palestinian terrorists from Gaza at civilian targets in southern Israel.

As Israel and the Palestinian Authority engage in direct negotiations, rocket launchers in the Hamas quasi-state have increased their attacks.

The vast majority fail to inflict casualties, and are therefore almost completely ignored by the international media.

Nevertheless, for many residents of Sderot and the farming communities of the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council, the Eshkol Regional Council, as well as in Ashkelon, the rockets are a terror that threaten their emotional well-being.

“Generally, the past year and a half has been relatively quiet,” Shaban-Kotzer told The Jerusalem Post. “There are always attacks, whether they come in the form of attempted infiltrations by gunmen, rocket fire, small arms fire – there is constant hostile activity.”

But compared to the era before Cast Lead, she added, things have improved – until the recent upsurge.

“Our population has grown – more than 105 families moved into our regional council since 2009. There are no more empty homes available for rent in the kibbutzim.

There are waiting lists. Our industrial zones are growing, and new factories are being added,” she said.

Dr. Adriana Katz, who heads a Ministry of Health mental health clinic in Sderot, which has been showered with Kassam rockets for almost a decade, said the recent rise in attacks could undo years of work to rehabilitate the town’s 4,000 sufferers of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

It was easy for the media to ignore the tremendous amount of psychological damage suffered by residents from years of rocket attacks and shelling, she said.

“Blood is easily photographed, but the soul cannot be captured by a camera lens. Mental healing is a complex, long-term process which cannot be guaranteed. It’s difficult to describe the damage in words,” she said.

“The minute we bring a person back to a normative situation, as far as this is possible, something will occur to bring the person back to PTSD.

There are still people who are too frightened to leave their home, there are still youths who cannot leave their parents,” Katz added.

She recalled how a man selling watermelons wandered Sderot’s streets during the summer, shouting “red watermelons!” The man’s shouts reminded people of the Color Red rocket alert, triggering trauma and anxiety among some, and the municipality was asked by the clinic to get the man to stop shouting out during his rounds. “If it wasn’t so sad, it would be funny,” Katz said.

“Everything makes us jump. If we see our air force flying overhead, some people will become anxious. If our army shells in retaliation for the rockets, it also makes us jump.”

Katz’s clinic is desperately understaffed, with four fulltime employees and two parttime volunteers treating 6,500 people. Katz described the situation as “scandalous.”

David Mandel, a psychiatrist based in Jerusalem, arrives at the clinic in Sderot once a week to volunteer.

“What we are dealing with here is complex PTSD – a continuing trauma,” Mandel said.

“This is not like soldiers in war or victims of a terror attack, who deal with one incident. Here it’s ongoing. The stresser is not going away.”

He often hears patients say that their problems begin after they feel that “something gets inside of them.

They say, ‘Once it’s inside, it’s hard for me to get it out again.’” Unlike combat soldiers, who are prepared for entering a life-threatening situation, residents of Sderot are going about with their everyday routine when a rocket explodes near them.

“Here, they’re just living their lives when something comes along that can just take their life away. The sound of a Kassam exploding can shake you up, even if it doesn’t hurt anyone,” he said.

For children who grow up in Sderot, life under constant rocket threat is the only reality they know, he said. “I remember an elementary school teacher saying that she had taken kids on a bus trip to Tel Aviv. The first question they asked when they got off the bus was where the bomb shelters are. For them it’s such a basic assumption,” Mandel said.

Haim Yalin, head of the Eshkol Regional Council, said his main goal was to ensure that buildings in his jurisdiction receive rocket-proof reinforcement protection. He is preparing to petition the High Court of Justice along with other local authority heads to that end.

Yalin said that the Iron Dome anti-rocket shield, designed to shoot down Kassam rockets, can only effectively protect areas situated at least 7 kilometers from the Gaza Strip. While buildings situated up to 4.5 kilometers from the security fence have rocket-proof protection, structures located between 4.5 and seven kilometers from Gaza cannot benefit from the Iron Dome shield, and lack protective structures, leaving them exposed.

“We are facing a Hamas regime which does not recognize us and shells us indiscriminately. The question is, how do you maintain communities in this area?” Yalin asked.

“Communities here are strong. Residents are connected to their land.

“People don’t come to live here for cheap real estate. They come for the education and the warm community life. No one is alone here. We are close-knit communities of farmers. But we need government help,” he said.

Ferry boat captain calls police after spotting man described as wearing "boxes" with "wires taped to his leg and forehead."

An Israeli tourist visiting New Zealand caused a minor panic on a New Zealand ferry on Sunday after the captain reported to police that a passenger was carrying a "suspicious article," NZTV reported.

Some media in New Zealand even reported a hostage situation aboard the ferry, even though the passenger was cooperative with police, according to the report.

The man was described as wearing what appeared to be "boxes" with "wires taped" to his body. "One individuals had two boxes attached, one box taped to his leg and one box seemingly taped to his forehead," a transportation services spokesman was quoted as saying in the report.

Jewish websites described the man as having worn his tefillin (phylacteries) on the morning ferry voyage.

He was stopped by police at the ferry's destination after it finished crossing the Cook Strait and was released by the police without being charged.

Mohamed Eljahmi, co-founder of the American Libyan Freedom Alliance, was among a number of activists who endorsed a call by 70 human rights groups calling for the United Nations and the world powers to condemn the Libyan government's recent actions and initiate an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council. Eljahmi also expressed his disappointment with the international community for not reacting to the massacres against the Libyan people by asking "where is the international community that spoke loudly and clearly when it came to Gaza? Where is Turkey, the new leader of the Islamic world that sent a ship to Gaza?"

It seems strange to me that it is perfectly okay for the kiwi S.I.S. or whatever they are called , to mount a retaliatory raid on the group that killed one of our soldiers in Afghanistan and kill a lot of them and yet our media , hypocriticaly , denounce Israel for doing much the same . It is all wrong but , however , this is how our secular world copes with evil .In this context then we see Israel is only trying to stop the attacks by rockets on shool buses and the slaughter /murder of their innocent families . Although I don't like any of it I can see that what happens in incidents like the Mavi Maramar convoy and other mistakes by Israel happen in the heat of battle . Rockets aimed at school buses in Israel from Gaza and the massacre of a family by insurgents from Gaza are done in cold blood . One of those who massacred the family heard the 3 month old baby crying , as they were leaving , and went back and killed him . Others in Gaza tried to cover up for the murderers .Any one who helps the Gazans get the capabilities to do these things is equally culpable .

Goldstein has also retracted his report that had condemned Israel , apparently he had been lied to by the Gazans .

Last week, the Dutch government took the decision to place IHH Netherlands, the Dutch organizer behind the upcoming Gaza flotilla, on the country's list of terror organizations. The move means the government will freeze all of the organizations financial assets, as the organization regularly transferred funds to its German sister branch already banned by German authorities on the basis of raising funds for Hamas. Yochanan Visser, an expert on Israeli-Dutch relations said that he agreed with the decision to add the organization to the terror list as there already "is enough evidence that IHH is a terrorist organization." The head of the Dutch Center for Information and Documentation of Israel, Ronny Naftaniel in his turn claimed that instead of helping the population in Gaza who already has enough humanitarian aid, IHH Netherlands should focus on supporting the Arabs living under terrible conditions in both Libya and Syria.

Hussain Orach, the President of the IHH, the organization behind last year's Gaza Flotilla recently confirmed that there will be another flotilla, despite the fact that Egypt has opened up the Rafah border crossing to Gaza. UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon on Friday called on governments to discourage their citizens from participating in the upcoming flotilla, but he was dismissed by IHH officials. "We are not engaged in illegal activity in the Mediterranean; it is Israel's blockade of 1.5 million Palestinians that is illegal," organizers said. Some IDF officers suggested allowing the ships to reach the Gaza Strip after the navy inspects them to ensure that they are not carrying weapons or other forbidden supplies to Hamas.

On anniversary of 'Marmara' raid, senior Navy officer says soldiers under order to use force, but objective to take over ships non-violently. Talkbacks (31) The Israel Navy is prepared to intercept and take control of the ships participating in the new flotilla to the Gaza Strip, a senior Navy officer said Tuesday on the anniversary of the IDF operation to stop the Mavi Marmara that ended in the death of nine Turkish nationals.

"We will order the ship to stop, but if they don't, we are prepared to intercept and board the ship," a senior officer told reporters.

The flotilla of 15 ships, organized by the Turkish humanitarian organization, IHH - which is outlawed in Israel due to its ties with Hamas, as well as The Free Gaza Movement - is planning to sail to the Gaza Strip in late June.

The organizers are currently working to raise funds to purchase the necessary ships for the flotilla and the predictions are that it is possible that they will have to delay their launch date by several days and even weeks.

The Israel Navy has been asked by the government to prepare an operational response to prevent the flotilla from breaking the sea blockade that Israel has imposed over the Gaza Strip. Under the blockade, Gazan fisherman are allowed to sail three kilometers off the coast of Gaza but no further. Ships are not allowed to enter waters that are twenty kilometers from the Gaza Strip.

According to international maritime laws, however, the Israel Navy is allowed to intercept and take control of a ship that declares its intentions to sail to Gaza even before it enters the waters that are under the blockade.

The Navy has been conducting training exercises in recent weeks in conjunction with the Air Force and in line with the lessons learned from last year's flotilla. Members of Israel Police and the Prison Service, who specialize in quelling civilian protests and violence, will participate in the operation to stop the flotilla together with the commandos from the Navy Flotilla 13, better known as the "Shayetet."

The senior Navy officer said that Israel was preparing a number of "surprises" for the ships that are expected to participate in the flotilla.

He said that soldiers were under order to use force to neutralize armed danger and neutralize attackers if necessary, but that in general, the objective and the goal would be to take over the ship non-violently and without casualties on either side.

On May 31 2010, the Israel Navy stopped a Turkish flotilla and when commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara they were attacked by a group of mercenaries.

In addition to military preparation, the Foreign Ministry is leading Israeli efforts to convince other countries to use necessary means to prevent the flotilla from departing to Gaza.

Cherna Rosenberg, a Canadian citizen residing in the Israeli city of Sderot, recently filed a million dollar lawsuit against two Canadian organizations involved in the upcoming Gaza flotilla. Her lawyers say that the organizations are supporting a network that "ultimately leads to the rocket attacks that have traumatized the plaintiff and caused her much suffering and loss, the Canadian Boat's raison d'être is to aid and abet the terrorist organization that rules Gaza."

Despite reports in Turkish newspapers of a possible cancellation of IHH's participation in the upcoming Gaza flotilla, Free Gaza and International Solidarity Movement spokesman Adam Shapiro recently said that the flotilla still will set sail. He added that the flotilla activists are in the last phase of preparations and that 10 ships are scheduled to participate. But other reports indicate that IHH members are having second thoughts about their participation due to developments in Syria, a crisis that could have direct effects on Turkey. The Turkish based organization will decide on their participation later on this week, and also announce if last year's flagship, the Mavi Marmara, will take part in this year's flotilla.

3 Iranian spies reportedly on house arrest after they forged passports in Istanbul; spies have had contact with al-Qaida, German 'Bild' reports.

Iran's suspected connection to the Turkish IHH flotilla has been at risk of being revealed, the German daily Bild reported on Saturday, citing intelligence sources.

Following the Iranian government's concern over the revelation, three Iranian spies have reportedly been place on house arrest after they falsified passports and travel documents in Istanbul for organizers of the IHH flotilla.

According to the Bild report, the spies' cover names are "The Broker," "Bit Taxim" and "Hot Chai" and they reportedly have been in contact with al-Qaida and the Iranian al-Quds Brigade.

On Friday, the IHH announced that it will not take part in a Gaza protest flotilla later this month due to repairs needed for the Mavi Marmara, prompting activists to pledge that they will reach the shores of Gaza independently.

Bulent Yildirim, head of the IHH announced at a news conference that the vessel will not sail for Gaza because of unrepaired damage caused in an IDF raid on the ship that left nine Turkish activists dead in May 2010.

“The Mavi Marmara unfortunately suffered so much damage we couldn’t get it ready in time,” Yildirim said.

Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, he denied that Ankara had forced the organization’s hand, saying “there is absolutely no obstruction by the government.”

Following the IHH’s announcement, the Free Gaza Movement posted a message on their website in which they said: “the fact that the Mavi Marmara will not participate in the FF2 [Freedom Flotilla 2], means that the misinformation put forward by the Israeli government and its supporters that the flotilla is a “Turkish” and “Islamist” effort will be exposed.

“Hundreds of people from around the world are sailing to break the blockade on Gaza. FF2 will include more ships than the first flotilla, even without the Mavi Marmara. Moreover, the coalition consists of significantly more member organizations this time – from all over Europe, North America, the Middle East and North Africa,” the message continued.

Earlier this month, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu was quoted in the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet as saying that “Israel should wait for a new Palestinian government to be set up and then lift the blockade on Gaza. The aid flotilla should also wait to see what happens with the Rafah border crossing being opened, and to see how Israel perceives the new government.”

Soner Cagaptay, a senior fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said Friday night that he believes that Ankara pressured the IHH to pull out of the flotilla partly out of a desire to avoid seeing the organization designated a terrorist group.

Cagaptay added that while Turkey is a democracy, the power of Erdogan’s AKP party is such that the IHH would be hesitant to ignore their concerns.

“Their political power everyone feels – they are the longest ruling party since multi-party democracy began in Turkey,” he said. “Any Turkish organization that would cross them would feel their weight.”

Cagaptay said that with US-Turkish relations currently in a “happy phase,” they may have wanted to prevent the IHH from taking part in order to avoid souring the “vast avenue of cooperation” between the two countries.

“I think that Turkish-US policy has entered a positive phase,” he said. “The relationship with the US is kind of taking off, and there is now not only a positive area for cooperation, but it’s possible to move forward. Perhaps they’re saying in Ankara that things are sweetening up with Washington.”

Commander of the Israeli Navy Vice-Admiral Eliezer Merom called on the world to take action to stop what he termed a "provocative and hateful" flotilla that is planning to sail to the Gaza Strip later this month.

"Allowing ships to sail to Gaza will enable Hamas, which is a radical terror organization operating under Iran, to arm itself with advanced weaponry and to threaten Israel with rockets and missiles," Merom said.

The navy chief invited the organization that seeks to transfer aid to Gaza to do so through Israeli ports or through Egypt in coordination with the relevant authorities.

"The goal of the organizers of the flotilla is to clash with soldiers and to create a media provocation and to delegitimize Israel," he stated.

TV's closeup show asked last night wether one of our activists participatring in this saga should have our governments protection .Here is what the Swiss government has sai to any of their nationals who participate .

IDF continuing preparations for Gaza blockade runners

Israel continues to prepare for the upcoming Gaza flotilla expected to set sail later this month despite the announcement that last year's flag ship, the Turkish flagged Mavi Marmara, has pulled out. Eliezer Merom, Vice-Admiral and Commander of the Israeli Navy, in a statement urged the participating countries not to go ahead with the flotilla, which he called "provocative and hateful," adding that "the goal of the organizers of the flotilla is to clash with soldiers and to create a media provocation and to delegitimize Israel." Meanwhile, Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, known for being a harsh critic of Israel, said that, "Israel has the right to inspect whether the ships are bringing in prohibited goods," and advised Swedes thinking of participating in the flotilla that "it goes without saying that Sweden cannot give any guarantees of security for a trip of this kind."

The German Left Party earlier this month issued a resolution prohibiting its Bundestag deputies from participating in the Gaza bound flotilla slated for late June. Billed as a resolution that would end the criticism that the Left Party is fundamentally anti-Israel and anti-Semitic, the resolution failed to impress the head of Germany's Jewish community, Dr. Dieter Graumann, and media commentators who see an anti-Semitic agenda driving the Left Party's domestic and foreign policy platforms. According to the Left Party's resolution, the party's parliamentary representatives and employees will not participate "in Middle East conflict initiatives that call for a one-state solution for Palestine and Israel and boycotts of Israeli products, as well this year's Gaza Flotilla."

Prosor: Gaza flotilla threat waning, might disappear

The newly appointed Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, on Thursday said that it appears that the numbers of ships that will set sail for Gaza in the upcoming flotilla are shrinking by the day. He added that if any organization would like to send aid to Gaza this can be done through legal channels and that the flotilla is clearly designed as a provocation against Israel. "Some flotilla organizers have made comments to the media indicating their plans to employ a range of tactics to resist the enforcement of the naval blockade by the Israel Defense Forces," Prosor explained. "These tactics, which might include physical confrontation with the IDF, could spark unnecessary violence resulting in harm to persons and property. Several countries have recently warned their citizens from participating in the flotilla, and Israel has announced that participants won't be able to visit Israel for a period of 10 years.

Only days before several pro-Palestinian groups ready to set sail for Gaza, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor, delivered a press conference on the issue. "This flotilla can bring just trouble, nothing constructive," he said. "It's important to state that there is nothing humanitarian or anything that has to do with Palestinian welfare that the organizers of this flotilla want to do." Israel's ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, added that Israel has every right to defend the blockade under international law, a fact that earlier this week was confirmed by the Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, known for his harsh criticism towards Israel. In response to Oren's statement, Cyprus on Thursday announced that it had banned all sailings from its ports towards Gaza.

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